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New leader appointed for Wyandot Inc.

Staff report
Published 5:43 p.m. ET Nov. 8, 2015

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From left, Rex Parrot, Rob Sarlls and Nick Chilton pose for a photo in front of the Wyandot Snacks compound. Parrott, the former CEO of Wyandot, and Chilton will be retiring from their positions; Sarlls will be assuming the position as the new CEO.(Photo: Matthew Hatcher/The Marion Star)Buy Photo

MARION - Douglas W. Brown, chairman of the board of Wyandot Inc., has announced the appointment of Rob Sarlls to the position of president and CEO effective Nov. 2.

Sarlls has been active in the food and beverage space for more than 20 years, and he most recently was a consultant to mid-sized food companies and food focused private equity firms with Food Strategies LLC.

Before that, he had several senior leadership positions with John B. Sanfilippo & Son, a supplier of snack and recipe nuts and related products to the retail, food service and commercial markets. While with that company, Sarlls was instrumental in developing and executing growth strategies and implementing organizational best practices which resulted in record sales revenues, a tripling of cash flow, and a four-fold increase in the company’s share price, according to a recent news release.

Sarlls brings to Wyandot a broad perspective of the food industry from his years as a strategic and capital markets adviser to large and mid-sized family and entrepreneurial owned food businesses, as well as to boards of directors and CEOs of larger domestic and international food and agribusiness companies, primarily with Rabobank.

He replaces Nick R. Chilton, CEO, and Rex A. Parrott, president and chief operating officer, who announced their retirements earlier in the year. Both will remain on the board of directors; Sarlls will join the board, the news release states.

“We have experienced significant growth over the last few years and we are confident in Rob’s ability to take Wyandot to the next level,” Brown said. “His demonstrated abilities in strategy development, business analysis, general management and overall leadership place him in a position to put Wyandot on an even steeper growth curve.”

“I am delighted and honored to have the confidence of the Brown family and the board in continuing the great work of Nick, Rex and the team in furthering Wyandot’s leadership in the snack space” Sarlls said. “I especially look forward to expanding the company’s presence in the fast growing ‘better for you’ snack categories, and to continuing to deliver best in class products and service to our customers and to the consumer.”

Sarlls will relocate to Dublin with his family.

Wyandot Inc. is an 80-year-old, family-owned company involved in processing grain-based snacks, including tortilla chips, corn chips, cheese curls and ready-to-eat popcorn. The company serves the private label grocery and food service markets, as well as contract manufacturing customers for whom it makes products under other marketers and manufacturers.